First Pistol - Ruger 22/45 Lite - Anything I should know?

Hello everyone. I'm new to these forums and firearms but I have been getting a great deal of friendly and incredibly helpful advice since joining this community.
I still feel I have a long way to go before being very comfortable with firearms. My instructor brought a variety of firearms for me to try at the range and I was really drawn to the Ruger MK3 he had.
It was very easy to handle and hold and I didn't feel as incredibly intimidated by it as I did with the S&W 64 and the 1911.

After my first trip to the range the other day I have been doing research on what kind of firearm I would like to purchase and continue practicing with. I decided on a Ruger 22/45 Lite.

A very nice man at the gun store I went to introduced me to the Lite version - I told him I was very new and had pretty weak arms and hands right now. I became fatigued really quickly at the range.
When I picked up the Lite it was really an incredible difference and he thought it would help me be able to practice more and consistently if it was a lighter pistol. He even have me a free 1/2 hour at the range which I will cash in tomorrow

Having this actual firearm near me is still quite intimidating. I'm going to be reading the manual a great deal but I don't think it will help my anxiety much.
The guy at the gun store mentioned they were easy to take apart but that they can be tricky to get back together if I take it apart to clean - he mentioned there were some youtube videos that might help.
That's a little worrying ....

All in all though I feel good about the purchase and I am looking forward to the range time to try it out. Nervous but excited.

Calm yourself!
Anxiety is not a requisite of shooting, and particularly not of shooting well.

As long as you remember the safety rules and carefully apply them, you'll be OK.Here are the rules:
• Always treat every gun as if it were loaded and ready to do harm, even when you know that it's not.
• Never point any gun at something that you are not willing to destroy.
• Keep your finger off of the gun's trigger until you have it pointed in the right direction, and are actually ready to shoot something.

Guns that fire the .22 rimfire cartridge do not need to be detail-cleaned very often. Don't worry about taking yours apart.
Get a cleaning device called a "Boresnake," and use it to clean the bore of your pistol's barrel after every shooting session. You don't have to take the gun apart to do this, but rather only to latch its action open. Your instruction book will explain how to do that.
Use an old, dry toothbrush to clean any foreign material out of your pistol's "works" after every shooting session. You do not have to take the gun apart to do this.
Use little drops of oil to lubricate the parts of your gun which slide against each other. Use very little oil to do this. The brand of oil is not important.
Once a year, take your pistol to a gunsmith, and pay him to disassemble and detail-clean it.

Don't obsess. Just enjoy the learning experience.
It's only a mechanism. There isn't much you can do, that'll cause permanent harm to it.
Relax.

Steve ... I am an anxiety sufferer in general so being calm takes work and comfortability training for me. I will get there. This is a huge step for me.
I'm very familiar with the rules and the one on one training with my instructor really helped get me this far - to the point of actually purchasing a firearm - considering just looking at one gave me stress several years back.
It still makes me nervous and I imagine it will for a very long while.

I am looking forward to some range time tomorrow and I hope that I'll gain more confidence each time I go

Thank you very much for the cleaning information. I was wondering about that actually and I had forgotten to ask the guy at the gun shop about it. I was reading the instruction manual on how to disassemble for cleaning. It looked a bit complicated but I think I will be able to figure it out. I have a better feel for what I will need to do after each session now thank you.

Well, at least the 22/45 is a little easier to clean than the Mk. III I have. I had a 22/45 for about a year, and maybe because of the polymer grips, it seemed easier to get back together than my Mark III is. I think the polymer "gives" a little more than the steel does. After you do it a few times though, it is no big deal. Just follow the instructions and you will do just fine. I agree with what Steve said though, that is you do not have to do a thorough cleaning every time you shoot your gun. The .22 LR ammo can be a little on the dirty side, so eventually you will have to break it down to clean it, but it is really no big deal. Happy shooting!